The present invention relates generally to a seat slide device for an automotive seat allowing a vehicular seat ocupants to freely select a comfortable position. More specifically, the invention relates to a compact seat slide device which requires a smaller vertical clearance between the bottom of an automotive seat and the vehicular floor.
In general, a seat slide device comprises a lower rail fixed to the vehicle floor and an upper rail slidingly engaging the lower rail and fixed to the bottom of the vehicular seat. The lower rail has a pair of longitudinal flanges. The upper rail has essentially C-shaped or channel-shaped longitudinal edges. The edges of the upper rail engage the flanges of the lower rail for sliding engagement. Bearings received between the mating transverse edges and flanges allow smooth sliding movement of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail. In addition, the seat slide device also has a lock which secures the upper rail to the lower rail at the selected seat position. The lock releasably locks the upper rail to the lower rail.
The lock comprises generally a locking lever releasably engaging at least one of a plurality of locking holes formed in the lower rail and a bracket secured to the upper rail and supporting the locking lever. The locking holes are just large enough to receive a locking leg of the locking lever, which itself is sufficiently large to ensure a secure lock capable of withstanding shocks such as a vehicle collision.
Conventionally, the locking holes of the lower rail are located below the bearing. This imposes a height requirement on the lower rail, which, in turn, limits reduction of the height of the seat slide device overall. This also results in a relatively heavy seat slide device.